make do and mend for tougher times

Molly41

I had some positive news through the post in the dreaded brown envelope - i wont say it is good news because Im still devastated that I can no longer practice as a Midwife. Anyway the last set of supporting letters have made the difference and I am now back in the Support Group of my Employment Support Allowance. I know some other people on this thread are also affected and I would be happy to share my experience and what I have learnt if anyone would like to PM me.

lisakay_2

I've tried catching up, but I'm that tired none of the posts are sinking in. I was up late last night preparing childminding paperwork and tidying up for the lady that i was supposed to be meeting today, but she's rearranged for thursday, with the hope of her little boy joining us on friday.
He's at the same school as my two, a year above DD1. they know each other because they both go to the same after school sports club. Hopefully he'll settle in well...if we can get him over his nervousness with dogs.
The girls are just sat playing very quietly with beads while i'm on here. I think we're all in for an early night tonight.

smiley (((hugs))) x


My personal trainer/friend organises group runs on a monday night. I went last night while DH was about to watch the kids. managed 5k in 33.5 minutes. It's a while since i've done any so i'm pleased with my time. she also runs bootcamps for adults and kids and i've managed to set her up with meetings with the headteachers at my school and the girls school to discuss taking the fitness bootcamp into schools. the staff at both schools are really enthusiastic about it. (i'll be getting free personal training sessions in return )

i'm just trying to bribe the kids into doing the housework for me. dd1 to wash pots and dd2 to hoover in return for icecream;)

mama67

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

Monty Don lost his greenhouse toms to blight - just a couple of days after saying it was highly unlikely as they were in a greenhouse so there you go - even the experts can get it wrong!

We've had to pull all ours up as well as they were blighted. At least we have had a decent crop from them during the salad eating days.

GreyQueen

smileyt wrote: »

Hi folks, been missing in action because I am depressed again, been to doctor etc and waiting for meds to kick in. Have missed a lot on here, no chance of catching up.

Found this, might be interesting for those of you with autistic children and I'm going to try probiotics to see if it helps me, although my diet is pretty good already. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/08/30/antipsychotic-drugs-in-children.aspx?e_cid=20120830_DNL_artNew_1

Kittie - lots of organic chocolate for sale at approvedfood today - Green and Blacks.

Probably won't be posting much for a while. Love to you all xxx.

(((smileyt))) was only thinking the past couple of days that I hadn't seen you post for a while and hoped you were OK. We'll still be racketing around when you feel up to joining in again. Take care of yourself, pet.

mardatha wrote: »

AWh smiley you'd be best to stay in here pet, we can all keep you afloat xxx
Another one whi is MIA is Bitterandtwisted, not seen her for a while

I haven't seen B&T post for ages and I used to enjoy reading her. Maybe she's reading and will pop in and say "hi".

kidcat wrote: »

Mar - one of our other MIA is the lovely Australian lady, whose name is escaping me (as do most names at the moment)

That's Softstuff, an Brit married to an Australian and living over there. Lovely lady. I nip by to her blog regularly but she hasn't updated it since 28th Jan so I guess she'd busy about other things. Hope it's good-busy and not poorly-busy IYKWIM.

My day has been a lot of :wall::wall::wall:

which inevitably lead to a lot of this:EasterBun:EasterBun:EasterBun

Which was better than hitting the bottle, I suppose.......

Having a very OS supper from storecupboard and h.g. foodstuffs and chilling out. Tomorrow is another day and it will be better than today, fingers crossed.

Have a lovely evening, everybody. GQ x

ginnyknit

Smileyt :wave: hugs hunny. Feel better soon. Oh says do you want visitors? If you do let us know and he can come and bore you to death about cricket..or model trains...lots of different subjects to choose x

Tighten the belts time -again- at chez Ginny, we got the details of the bedroom tax, not going to moan, thought we were exempt due to OH poorliness, will find out. Going to start a sealed pot just for it.

Off to make jam or pickle something:rotfl: My lovely neighbour (a seamstress still working at 80) said she had some thread for me and owould pop it over the fence onto the wheelybin for me to pick up. So went to bin this morning and lo and behold theres a carrier bag - bag of spuds, onion, carrots and a fab cucumber. I was baffled at first but we now have spuds for tea :rotfl: Her daughter grows them about quarter of a mile from here and doesnt seem to have any problem with bl**dy slugs. Very kind of her to pass it on.

Made pudding for 3 of us last night for 31p ! they were selling off jam sponge cakes on the market 4 for a pound and a 6p pack of custard from Mr T and Bobs your auntie.

VJsmum

I know someone was asking about Softstuff not that long ago (maybe a few months) and she popped up to say she was fine and shared a recipe.

I will !!!!!! about DD but just to say that, after having left her sobbing her heart out (but I had to go, I know from nursery days that it is better if you're not there) she "pulled herself together" and set to. She has swapped chemistry for french and has been buddied up with a girl who has been at the school all through. She seems calmer and more resigned. But who knows what the morning will bring.

OH is back from his hols tomorrow and I am off to Korea on THursday as I am teaching there on Saturday and Sunday :eek:. I am rather petrified as I don't like flying and have never been that far before - or somewhere so utterly different, culturally. This probably won't help DD to settle but there is nothing to be done about it. She might take heart that I am petrified but still going.

I haven't had the time to be OS about anything much of late - except I have organised my store cupboard better and am stocking up as and when i see offers. Value pasta is reasonably priced in Mr M so I bought a few bags of that.

Fuddle - you are a kind and generous soul and I hope your olive branch is accepted.

Oh and my pink fluffy bedsock has a huge hole in it!:D

D&DD

aw VJ's mum hope that means things will settle for her..and you! Its awful when they're so upset Have a safe trip that sounds exciting!!

Hopelessly behind so will shut up now and spend a few hours reading back to see what you've all been up too..nothing too saucy I hope :D
Enjoyed the Wartime Farm and had to laugh when PAH said she'd got her !!!!!! book...took me a while to work out what the hell she'd been buying

Pooky

VJsmum - hope she will settle a bit more now. It's heartbreaking to see them so upset at any age but I think it does get worse the older they get. DD1s friendship group all fell out last year, they all paired off and DD was left alone, she was so upset by it, she doesn't have a nasty bone in her body but just wasn't "in" enough to fit. Actually I'm very proud of her as most of it was drink and drug related and she told them exactly where they could shove it. It was a huge risk taking her from her comfort zone and pushing college as an option but it seems to have paid off, although she had to leave at 7.10am to get to college for 9am. She got home just after 6pm (she did stop off for a quick snog with her BF on the way home - and rightly so) so its a long day but she's only in three days a week.

Tonight is one of those "ahhhhhh" moments, candles and soft table lamps, nice music on the stereo and a glass of wine. All the cats are in and happy and DDs are both pj'd up and reading. Contentment comes cheap in this house.

fuddle

Ditto hun. Pooky I'm sat here with fairy lights draped amongst a load of sticks I've tied together - an eye sore by day but cosy by night.

Christmas tree lights - are they expensive to run?

Sorry to read that our youngsters are struggling.

SDG31000

Hello everyone

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((smileyt)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) I hope your black dog, not your real ones, goes off to visit someone else very soon. I know how bad depression can be and hope you are soon back to your normal self x

I am finding myself waiting for the phone to ring and dreading when it will. Our friend is home and now we are all just waiting for the end. I'm on the verge of tears all the time, but holding it together so far. This week is really busy so that is helping. DH is going down South on Sunday to go to Harry Potter World with DMIL, DS2 and one of our friend's step daughters. He might see our friend while he is down there, but I've decided that it's not going to help if I go.

I still need to sort out the kitchen freezer, finish the book for book group on Thursday and to start the cardi I want to make, but I have done the big freezer and got advice from the lovely ladies at Knit and Natter about the pattern I want to make. So that's a start.

Time for chocolate and lots of it I think. I wonder where my Green and Blacks stash is hiding

Take care xxxxxxxxx